Tuesday, September 20, 2011

1981 ted simmons

ted simmons went from the cardinals to the brewers in the december 1980 rollie fingers trade. here is his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

despite hitting just .216 for the brew crew in '81, simmons was named to the american league all-star team. in the midsummer classic, simmons hit a pinch-hit rbi single off of burt hooton to drive in the american league's 4th run of the game and give them a 2-run lead. rollie fingers would later give up a two-run homer to mike schmidt as the nl came back to win the game.

simmons had a much better season in 1982, with a .269 average, 23 home runs and 97 rbi, helping the brewers get back to the playoffs and into the world series for the first time. he may be the best eligible offensive catcher not in the hall of fame.